


Jade Elephants

by afewreelthoughts



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Cyvasse, Dorne, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 16:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17026434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewreelthoughts/pseuds/afewreelthoughts
Summary: Trystane and Myrcella bond over cyvasse.





	Jade Elephants

**Author's Note:**

> written for gotsecretsanta as a gift for @dornishsphinx over on tumblr 
> 
> I own nothing and make no money from this. Everything belongs to GRRM.

Myrcella Baratheon moved her ivory trebuchet two squares to the right. 

“So I win?” she said quietly.

“Ummm…”

Prince Trystane Martell stared down at the cyvasse board in dismay. She wasn’t supposed to be so good at this game starting off. He was supposed to teach her, to be a gracious host, but over the past week Trystane could only try to keep up. He reminded himself that Myrcella was a guest here, and that he was no longer a child, like Little Loreza, who would push the cyvasse board off the table and pout whenever she lost.

“…yes?” he said.

Myrcella sat up tall and grinned. “I like this game.”

Whenever she smiled Trystane remembered why losing to her never bothered him for long. She had started to freckle in the sun, small brown spots speckled across her nose and cheeks. They looked like stars when she smiled.

“What did you do for fun in King’s Landing if you don’t play cyvasse?” he asked.

“I play with my brother Tommen when I don’t have lessons. He likes dolls and figures of knights, and he always wanted a kitten.”

“You have another brother, don’t you? King Joffrey?” Trystane asked.

“Yes.” Myrcella bit her lip.

Trystane wanted to say sorry, but he didn’t know what he was apologizing for. “Do you miss them?” he asked instead. He had wanted to ask her that for a while, now that she had been in Sunspear for some weeks.

“I miss Tommen. I miss my mother.“

“And not Joffrey?”

“I don’t want to say things that aren’t nice.”

Trystane blinked. He wasn’t asking her to say anything that wasn’t nice. Was he?

“Do you…” Trystane pushed a tiny jade and ivory elephant across the board. “Do you like it here?”

She smiled again. “Yes.”

“I know it’s hotter than King’s Landing.”

“I like it,” she said, turning to look out the window. “It’s never cold.” As if to prove her point, a warm breeze brushed her hair off of her forehead. The air smelled like the desert.

Myrcella leaned her arms on the windowsill and looked down. Trystane followed her eyes, down the walls of the palace to the city below, its bazaars full of people pushing to and fro, yelling and selling their wares. Trystane didn’t like the crowds, and he didn’t like the noise, but Myrcella’s eyes lit up.

“Do you think we could go out one day?” she asked.

“I could ask my father.”

She seemed peaceful, looking out over the city and taking in the raucous noise.

“I miss them, but I like it here without them, too,” she said. She looked back at Trystane. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“I think so,” he said. “Perhaps they could visit sometime.”

She smiled and rested her head on her arms. “Tommen would love the horses, and he’d want to play in the Water Gardens, and my mother would love all the bright colors everyone wears.”

“What about Joffrey?” Trystane asked. He knew she wasn’t mentioning him for a reason, and part of him knew to leave it alone. “Is he the one you like being away from?” 

Trystane had never seen frost before, but he imagined it looked like Myrcella’s eyes did that very second. Her hands bunched up into fists, and her face fell as she looked out over the view from their Sunspear tower.

“He could come, too, if he wants,” she said.

“What’s he like?” Trystane asked. 

“He’s the king. You’re not supposed to speak ill of the king.”

Trystane reached across the board and impulsively wrapped his arms around her. He didn’t know why he’d done it, and he hoped he hadn’t startled her. After a moment of stillness, she held him back.

“Thank you,” she said. 

“I’m sorry for asking.” 

"That’s all right. I’m glad I’m here.” 

She let go of him. “Another game?” she asked, smiling. 


End file.
